This allegorical tableau vivant, or mise-en-scène was created by Oscar Rejlander in 1857.
It depicts a philosopher, or a sage, or perhaps a father leading two young men towards manhood. One (to the left) looks towards vice; gambling, wine and prostitution, and the other looks towards virtue; religion, industry and family. Penitence, in the center, looks toward the right, rejecting vice.
The image was the first publicly exhibited photograph of a nude, the first major art photograph and the first photo-montage.
